In this gripping episode of Echo Valor, David Burnell sits down with longtime friend Dan Laguna — Green Beret, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Night Stalkers) pilot, and former head of Blackwater Aviation.

Dan’s journey spans decades of elite military service, from training and advising in Central and South America to flying Little Birds in Mogadishu during Black Hawk Down and leading high-risk missions in Iraq. He shares the formative influence of his Korean War veteran father, the creation of his life motto “You have to live hard to be hard”, and the fateful day in 2007 when his brother was killed in action beside him.

This is not just a combat memoir. It’s a testament to resilience, leadership, and living purposefully every day — no matter the cost.


Dan Laguna Interview: You Have to Live Hard to be Hard Podcast

Active shooter incidents aren’t just headlines—they’re here, in our schools, malls, libraries, and places of worship. The unthinkable has happened before, and it will happen again.

David Burnell—featured on CNN and MSNBC after one of the largest school active shooter incidents—has trained over 1,000 teachers in unconventional defense options. This episode is part of his ongoing mission to prepare people for the unthinkable.

You’ll step inside real-life responses to active shooters, from the Trolley Square shooting to the North Hollywood shootout, and hear firsthand how split-second decisions save lives. We break down the DHS Run, Hide, Fight protocol for civilians and reveal why police must go beyond the firing range—into force-on-force training that builds real-world readiness.

From SWAT history to cutting-edge Urban Warfare Center scenarios, this is a clear, unflinching look at what it takes to survive when every second counts.

Shots Fired: Preparing for the Unthinkable Podcast

In this powerful episode, David Burnell shares a grueling personal story from his time at Dive Rescue International Instructor School in Fort Collins, Colorado—a seven-day crucible designed to create elite instructors for 9-1-1 rescue diving in the most hazardous environments on earth: swift water, under ice, and deep open water.

Through punishing physical demands, complex problem-solving under pressure, and team evolutions where failure carried real consequences, David witnessed firsthand how the mind often gives up before the body—and how those moments reveal who has the will to persevere.

This is a raw, inside look at how failure can become the ultimate training tool, from swimming endless laps and treading water with 25-pound weight belts to devising strategies under fatigue and watching experienced divers quit on Day One.

You’ll learn:

Why failure can clarify your mission and filter out distractions

How pressure reveals both weakness and hidden strength

The essential role of confidence, control, and teamwork under stress

How to “deal with it” and adapt when plans fall apart

This is more than a diving story—it’s a lesson for every high-stakes mission, whether in the water, combat, or life.

Sink or Succeed: How Failure Forges True Strength Podcast

PTSD. Four letters that carry a weight far heavier than most can imagine.
For those who live with it, there’s no badge of honor — only the challenge of navigating a world that looks fractured, distorted, and untrustworthy. In this deeply personal episode, David Burnell shares his own path through decades of trauma from military service, rescue missions, and humanitarian operations — from the streets of gang-ridden Los Angeles to the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Through vivid storytelling, David reveals what it’s like to view life through a “kaleidoscope” of memories, why certain triggers can take your breath away, and how the right help can rewire the brain to restore hope and clarity. He shares the tools, therapies, and mindsets that have helped him — and others — recognize, manage, and sometimes overcome the invisible wounds of service.

This episode is for veterans, first responders, survivors, and anyone who’s carried the firehose weight of trauma. It’s a message of resilience, an unflinching look at the reality of PTSD, and a reminder that you are not alone — and you are not broken.

Through the Kaleidoscope: Living With and Beyond PTSD Podcast

In the shattered streets and remote villages of post-earthquake Haiti, a unique task force set out to save lives. As Chief of Security for the Utah Hospital Task Force, David Burnell’s mission wasn’t medicine but survival.

In this gripping, behind-the-scenes account, David shares the untold stories of missions deep into dangerous territory, safeguarding doctors and nurses as they delivered aid amid machete-wielding locals, potential abductions, and moments where seconds meant the difference between safety and catastrophe.

From tense standoffs in remote villages to unexpected collisions—both literal and cultural—this episode reveals the complex relationship between medical teams driven to help at any cost and the protectors sworn to bring them home alive. It’s a study in respect, trust, and the hard-earned unity that can emerge when two very different callings serve one purpose.

Listeners will hear of volatile encounters, life-saving instincts, hard conversations, and the turning point where mutual understanding transformed the mission. These are the real-world challenges of protecting healers in a world where compassion and danger walk side by side.

Circles of Trust: Protecting Healers in Haiti Podcast

In this deeply personal episode, David Burnell reflects on friends, comrades, and family members who carry the visible and invisible scars of service. From Green Berets and rescue officers to law enforcement and search-and-rescue volunteers, these are the walking wounded — men and women forever changed by the battlefield, disaster zones, and the unthinkable moments they’ve faced.

David shares vivid, first-hand accounts of friends like Jeff, a Bronze Star recipient wounded in Afghanistan; John, a comrade blown up by terrorists in Tunisia; his Uncle Bill, a Chosin Reservoir Marine haunted by decisions no one should have to make; and others who have endured catastrophic injuries, PTSD, and lifelong pain.

These are not stories of weakness — they are stories of resilience, duty, and a brotherhood that survives beyond the fight. This episode is a call to honor those who’ve paid the price in body, mind, and spirit, whether or not they wear the Purple Heart. It’s about never letting their sacrifices fade into silence.

If you’ve ever served, loved someone who has, or want to understand the hidden cost of freedom, this conversation will stay with you long after the final words.

The Wounded Warriors: Honoring the Walking Wounded Podcast

In January 2010, a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti, killing over 300,000 people and displacing millions. What awaited those who entered in the days after was chaos, danger, and the desperate struggle of a nation already on its knees.

In this gripping episode, David Burnell takes you inside his role as Chief of Security for the Utah Hospital Task Force — a humanitarian mission of doctors, nurses, and translators thrust into the deadliest natural disaster in modern history. With former operators among the early team and only a handful of security personnel, David ensured 120 lives made it home safely.

From protecting medical teams in riot-torn streets, to escorting orphan extractions under threat of violence, to tracking a kidnapped American toddler through Haiti’s mountains, this mission pushed the limits of endurance, resourcefulness, and faith. It’s a story of high-stakes decisions, improvised alliances — including the unexpected support of the 82nd Airborne — and the sobering truth of operating where law and order have collapsed.

This isn’t just a disaster response story. It’s a ground-level look at leadership under extreme pressure, the moral weight of protection, and the stark contrast between the comforts we take for granted and the fragility of life when they’re gone.

Into the Quake Zone: Haiti 2010 Mission of Security, Survival, and Service Podcast

When war whispers through the jungle, some answer with fire. Others, with healing hands.

David Burnell didn’t go to Burma to wage war. He went unarmed, on a promise—to protect a friend and help train twelve medics deep within territory controlled by the Karen resistance, amid a brutal conflict few in the world even knew was still raging.

Beyond the Border is a gripping true story of jungle survival, spiritual conviction, and the unseen cost of service. Through sweltering heat, silent threats, and the constant presence of death, David’s journey became far more than a mission—it became a calling.

From the moment he stepped off the plane in Thailand to the day he embraced a barefoot child beside a bamboo hut, this book captures the reality of humanitarian warfare—where life-saving decisions are made under the shadow of violence, and where the measure of a man isn’t in the weight of his weapon, but in the strength of his resolve.

Raw. Redemptive. Unforgettable.

Beyond the Border is not just a memoir—it’s a witness to the miracles that still happen when courage walks in with no banner, and love refuses to retreat.

Beyond the Border: A Mission of Mercy in Burma (Audiobook)

In this powerful episode of Echo Valor, David Burnell sits down with longtime friend and seasoned law enforcement officer, federal agent, military veteran, and mental health professional Jeffrey Denning. Together, they unpack the realities of crisis response, the cumulative toll of trauma, and the tools needed to stay grounded in the face of overwhelming events.

From frontline experiences in Iraq to critical incident stress debriefings after officer-involved shootings, Jeffrey shares practical strategies for pre-incident preparation, managing acute stress, and long-term self-care. The discussion covers primary, secondary, and tertiary trauma, how first responders and families are impacted by tragedy, and why sleep, exercise, connection, and gratitude are essential for healing.

Whether you are in law enforcement, EMS, the military, or simply navigating today’s chaotic world, this episode offers wisdom, actionable insights, and hope. Learn why “healing hurts, but helping heals”—and how to prevent isolation, find community, and keep your mental armor strong.

Jeffrey Denning and David Burnell Crisis Response Managing Acute Stress

For ten years, David Burnell lived in the invisible war—serving as a U.S. Air Force Communications Operations Specialist during the most volatile decade of the late Cold War.
His battlefield wasn’t marked by trenches or gunfire, but by encrypted transmissions, coded messages, and the heavy silence of classified operations.

From the blackout classrooms of Sheppard Air Force Base to the fog-covered runways of RAF Sculthorpe, and from the jungles of Central America to the frozen plains of South Dakota, Burnell’s decade in uniform unfolded behind security fences, within cleared rooms, and beneath the constant hum of secrecy.

In The Quiet War, Burnell opens a window into the unseen world of intelligence operations—where loyalty is tested by polygraphs, trust is earned in whispers, and the smallest mistake can echo across nations.

He recounts the call that changed everything: volunteering for Task Force Bravo in Cabañas ’87, where a last-minute reassignment spared his life when a friendly-fire incident took down the helicopter he was meant to board.
He describes the OSI polygraph interrogations after the capture of Navy spy John Walker, and the eerie feeling of serving “in the glass bowl” where every heartbeat was measured for loyalty.
He walks through the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rising threat of global terrorism, and the quiet moments on the flight line when coffins draped in flags arrived home without ceremony.

Amid the secrecy and tension, Burnell’s story is deeply human. It is about faith, family, endurance, and the cost of commitment.
It’s about the dream that first drew him in—the desire to become a Pararescue operator (“That Others May Live”)—and how that same drive would later carry him into real-world search and rescue, humanitarian missions, and crisis response long after the uniform came off.

The Quiet War is more than a military memoir—it is a testament to those who serve in silence, whose battles are unseen but whose sacrifices are just as real.

For readers of The Right Stuff, American Sniper, and The Operator, this is the untold story of a warrior who lived at the intersection of technology, intelligence, and faith during one of the most complex eras in modern history.

The Quiet War: Ten Years Inside the Shadows of the Cold War (Audiobook)

Cinematic spoken-word reflections on war, service, and the human cost of duty—told with raw honesty and reverence.

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